The Seventh Child
by Aix98
Summary: A/U. The seventh child of Kronos and Rhea, hidden from all of his siblings for three millennia. Now that he's discovered, Zeus threatened to kill the god, endangering Artemis in the process. Perseus claimed Artemis to be in his protection, making Zeus unable to lay a finger on her. Zeus declared the god is killed. Now Artemis is with him, what adventure lies before them? Pertemis.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Attention all of Aix98's readers . . . Hehe . . . It seems he's unconscious and I'll be taking over his account for now. Don't worry . . . Aix and I have the same name, and . . . the same body . . . hehe . . . We share the same body, so I'll just use this time to maybe kill his reputation.**

**I don't need to tell you what chapter this is, do I?**

As Zeus cast the remains of his father, Kronos, to Tartarus, the gods cheered triumphantly. They had won the war with the Titans after several years of fighting. Their mother, Rhea, was running away from her children. Although it's true that she was the one who ordered Zeus to slay his own father, Rhea had to flee. She didn't want to involve herself in this any longer, as all her children would just cast her out.

Well, _almost _all of them.

In her arms, sleeping peacefully was a male child, just born after Zeus had matured enough to battle with his father. In her arms was the seventh child of Kronos and Rhea, the youngest of the future Olympian. Rhea had vowed to herself that she would raise this child on her own, for the child had the powers of his father. He is a godling, which makes him equal to his fellow siblings.

"Do not worry, my child. I will keep you safe." Rhea muttered to her child.

**Line Break**

Rhea fled to a cave in Mount Ida, the same cave where she'd hid Zeus from her husband. There, she lulled the baby to sleep, and the baby fell asleep to the sweet and soothing serenade of his mother. The mother had never done this to any of her children, even Zeus because Zeus was taken care by other people other than her. She'd vowed to take care of this child by herself, and she will do it.

"Sleep well, Perseus." Rhea said as she kissed the forehead of her son lightly. She'd decided to call her son that because it seems like a good name for a young god. With both of his parents being Titans and immortals, he himself was an immortal with the powers of a god, which is yet to be determined but with certainty, he inherits some powers of his father. Rhea smiled at the sight of the only son she really loved sleeping. Rhea knew this couldn't go on for long because eventually, she's going to fade and her son will have to face the world all by himself. The least that Rhea could do was train him, take care of him and love him as a mother should.

**Time Skip**

Perseus had grown over the millennia, maturing and grown into a fine immortal. Rhea and Perseus had grown really close to each other, despite his father being the one who devoured his brothers and sisters. Rhea and Perseus had together watched the gods ruled the Earth with Perseus's brother, Zeus, being their king. His fellow siblings did not know about his existence because their mother had told Perseus to keep it a secret until the right moment for him to reveal himself. Perseus honours his mother's wish and had never intend to break it.

Perseus's power over time is little compared to Kronos, but he still has it. Rhea had offered him the title 'God of Time', but Perseus refused. He explained that he didn't want to be remembered just because he's the only child that had his father's powers. He wanted to be a god of something else, a different domain other than time. Besides, Perseus had vowed to her mother that he wouldn't use his father's powers, because he didn't want them to know he even had them. Perseus resented his father ever since Rhea told him the story on how he ate his siblings. It's not like Perseus cared about his siblings, well, maybe except for a few of them, but Perseus doesn't like the fact that his father would eat his own children just because he was afraid they might dethrone him. Well, it happened anyway.

Perseus woke up with daylight streaming out of his room. They followed with the times, having a house and using Rhea's powers to make them as comfortable as possible, living with a family. For Perseus, he didn't care if he even lived on the streets. As long as he had his mother, he couldn't be any happier.

"Perseus, my child, are you awake?" Rhea called.

"I am now, mother." Perseus smiled. He woke up and went straight to his mother. Even after over a thousand years of living with each other, Perseus had never grown tired of his mother's company nor her voice. "Good morning, mother."

"Good morning, Perseus." Rhea said with a smile. Perseus smiled back and embraced his mother, giving a kiss on her forehead.

"You haven't aged a single bit."

"Is that supposed to be compliment?"

"It's a fact, mother." Perseus said. His mother chuckled.

"That is sweet of you, my child." Rhea said. "Perseus, after your training with Achilles, I want to talk to you about something." Perseus smiled at his mother.

"We can talk about it now."

Rhea pursed her lips. "Later, after your training." Perseus was worried because his mother looked worried. His mother would never worry about anything unless it concerns him.

"As you wish, mother." Perseus said, kissing his mother on the forehead once again.

Rhea sighed. Today would be the day that she'd tell him the truth. Gaia had warned that this would happen. There's a reason why Rhea insisted on hiding Perseus's identity from everyone, including her other children. Gaia had warned her that should Perseus be kept alive, she'll have to fade. Why? Because where there is death, there will always be death. Meaning, Rhea had exchanged her soul for the sake of Perseus. Perseus wasn't supposed to live, heck, he wasn't even supposed to exist, but he did. Now, for some reason Rhea would not like to question, Rhea had to give up her existence so Perseus could live. Rhea doubts that her son would like this. Rhea had tried so hard to be far away from her son as possible so this parting would be easier, but she couldn't. Rhea loved her child too much. She loved him more than his other brothers and sisters because he was the only one who looked at her as a mother. Her other children just looked at Rhea as the wife of the Titan who just ate them. Unconsciously, a tear slid out from her eye and streamed down her cheek. She found herself smiling at the memories that she had spent with Perseus. Every single pain, hardship, bitterness, enjoyment and happiness that they had experienced together as mother and son.

Now, she has to do what's best for him.

**Line Break**

"Mother, I'm home." Perseus called. Rhea was silently crying in her room. "Mother?" Perseus called. Perseus looked everywhere for his mother and eventually, he found her, weeping in her room. "Mother, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He knelt next to his mother and wiped the tears. Rhea looked at her son in the eyes. For some odd reason, unlike his father, he had sea green eyes instead of golden. Then again, all of his siblings had different eye colours. Rhea would never forget the beauty of his eyes. Without warning, Rhea embraced her son tightly.

"Perseus . . ." Rhea whispered in her son's ear.

"Yes, I'm here mother. There's no need to cry." Perseus rubbed her mother's back soothingly, reassuring that he was there for her. That just made it harder to let him go.

"Perseus, there's something I need to tell you." Rhea said, trying to regain her composure.

"What is it?"

"I-I . . ." Rhea tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.

"It's okay, mother. I'm here for you." Perseus said with a smile.

"I'm going to die, my child." Rhea whispered softly.

That moment, the world seemed to slow down. "Mother, if this is your idea of a joke, it is not funny." Perseus said seriously. Rhea shook her head.

"It's not a joke, Perseus. I wish it is a joke, but . . ."

"What are you saying?" Perseus asked. "You're a Titan. You're immortal. You can't die. You can't leave me!"

Rhea shook her head. "My child . . . It's not my wish to leave you." Rhea started crying again, but she kept on. "But I'm doing this for you."

"What do you mean?"

"The Fates have ordained it. You should have not be allowed to live. You weren't supposed to exist, and yet here you are. They were going to take your life, so I had to intervene . . ."

Perseus's eyes widened as realization dawned to him. "You took my place? Why? WHY?!" Perseus had tears coming out of his eyes. "Why would you leave me?!"

Despite the shouting and anger Perseus showed on his face, his mother smiled. "Because I do not wish to see you, the only child I've ever loved as a mother, taken by the Fates. I'm so happy to have spent my time with you, making all those happy memories that I certainly would not forget." Rhea cried as the smile on her face became more sad and sweeter. "I remember when you were just a little boy."

"Mother, please . . ." Perseus pleaded. He grasped his mother's hand tightly and cupped it into his cheek. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't, Perseus, for I will forever be in your heart." Rhea smiled. "I want you to live your life and bring joy to the world as you brought joy to me."

"But I want you next to me."

"I have lived in this world long enough, my child and luckily, I've lived long enough to have raised you into a wonderful young god." Rhea smiled. "Let it remain in your heart that I will and forever love you, Perseus. I know you would do well by your own."

"No, please . . ."

Rhea kissed Perseus's forehead one last time then leaned to his ear. "Be a good little boy and promise me that you will treat others with respect. Promise me, you would not cry."

Perseus nodded. "I promise, mother." Tears were streaming from his eyes as he listened to his mother's final words. He glanced over to his mother and saw that she was already fading.

"Now, give one little smile for me." Rhea said sadly. Perseus's lips were trembling from the sadness he was holding back. As his lips curved into a small, sad smile, his mother smiled also. Rhea ruffled his hair and it turned messy. "I love you, Perseus." Perseus watched as his mother fades into the sky.

"I love you too, mother. I will and forever love you."

The last thing Perseus saw was the smiling face of his mother before it faded into the sky. Perseus's hands trembled. His mother was gone . . .

He couldn't take it anymore.

He cried himself to sleep.

**A bit sad, eh? Don't worry, there's more to this chapter.**

**Line Break (Present Time) (A/N: Before TLO)**

Perseus stood at the very, _very _top of the Empire State Building, the antenna. He overlooked the New York City landscape and smiled at himself on how much things have changed in just a few millennia. Perseus followed the flames of the West, where it resided here, in the mortal city called New York. Perseus was still a vacant god, which meant he could choose any domain that he would see fit. The Fates have yet declared what god was he supposed to be, and he didn't even care. All that he knew was, he was a powerless immortal with amazing combat abilities. Three millennia of living had made him the most experienced fighter everywhere; wielding anything from gigantic swords to chopsticks (can you believe how deadly they are?). Perseus was arguably the most experienced and skilful close combat fighter that exists. Still, that didn't improve his skills in ranged weapons, except for guns maybe, but other things such as archery or javelin throwing? He'd have a better chance hitting the target if he used a sword while blindfolded.

Perseus had both of his guns to his side, a Celestial Bronze sword that was as long as his body strapped on his back over his long red leather jacket that reached his shins. He found the sword when he was searching his old house three millennia ago, when his mother left him. It was the only thing that he had that belonged to his mother, so he wasn't planning to leave it behind. As for the guns, Perseus got them when he tried using two mortal guns against a monster. It didn't work. Then, for some odd reason, the guns shifted in both shape and power. The shape turned into one of those customs made handgun that you usually see in games. The guns draw powers from its wielder's life force and use it as ammo and since Perseus is immortal, his ammo never runs out.

To tell the truth, Perseus weren't very proud of what his siblings had done, especially Zeus. His ego had fed on him and turned him into an arrogant and power crazy king. He would do anything so that he would not lose his throne as the King of Gods. He sent Hades to rule the Underworld and made most of his children part of the council. Hestia had to step down in order to avoid controversy when Zeus made Dionysus that God of Wine.

Why does wine even needs a god?

The only children of Zeus that had really done a great job were Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes and . . . well, that's it. Apollo wasn't included because sometimes, he's a brat. Perseus admired the way Artemis performed her duties as the Goddess of the Moon and Virginity. She had formed a group of girls called Hunters of Artemis. These girls swore to be a maiden forever and follow Lady Artemis anywhere, in return they're granted immortality and won't die unless they fall in combat. Perseus sometimes spots Artemis in the wilderness with her hunters, camping for the night and having a good time. It sometimes brought memories on how Perseus and Rhea always spend their time together before she passed. Perseus could hear the Olympian council arguing above him, as usual. It's amazing how Perseus could hear them even though they were six hundred floors above the ground. Perseus sighed as he jumped off the very top of the Empire State Building. He jumped off the building as if this was just something he'd do on a Monday morning. Perseus had no fear that he will fall to the ground and splatter all over the place because for some reason, he had influence of gravity. It was probably the power of his father, Kronos, being the Titan of Time. Maybe space was also included in his domain, but Perseus didn't nor did he want to know. All he knew was it saved him a lot of trouble from going to the elevator and taking the whole trip down.

As Perseus glided through the air with his coat waving around his back, he tried to set his landing on a dark alley where hopefully, no one would see him and they would only think that he was a bird when he gently landed. The gravity lessened and lightened his fall, avoiding any injuries that would happen should the gravity was as strong as it was. As he landed, he heard a scream.

"Come here, babe. I know you want it." Perseus heard a man said. In front of him, at the exit of the alley, a woman was dragged into the alley by a men twice her size. Perseus blended into the shadows, away from their sight. The man had some kind of cloth over the woman's mouth as the woman struggled to free herself from his grip, but to no avail. The woman kicked the air and clawed at the man's arm, but the man had an iron grip. The man was grinning as he was about to do his evil intention. "Let's see what we have under these clothes, shall we?"

The man ripped apart her clothes in just one go, revealing her undergarments. The woman shrieked as she struggled harder. Perseus sighed. Mortals still haven't change after the years. Still trying to satisfy their lust. Perseus decided to save the poor woman and intervened. Perseus stepped out of the shadows.

"Let her go." Perseus said. The rapist turned around while the woman widened her eyes. Perseus understood what she was trying to say and nodded.

"Who do you think you are?" The man growled, still holding the cloth on the woman's mouth to ensure she doesn't scream. Perseus didn't feel slightly threatened by the man.

"I'm the guy who's going to kill you if you don't let her go right now." Perseus threatened. The man boomed a laugh, an expected expression from a cocky mortal.

"Well babe, I guess we're going to have our fun time later on." The man whispered at the woman's ear, making her struggle even harder. "Well? Where's you cocky attitude-" The man never finished his sentence, because Perseus moved quickly and aimed a punch at his gut, making him instantly release his grip on the woman. Then, Perseus kicked the man in the jaw before pulling his head and slamming his knee on his face. The man had a broken nose, which was bleeding now, as he staggered backwards. Out of rage, he charged at Perseus, only to have his ribs broken by a swing of Percy's fist. The man fell unconscious instantly.

"Oh, are you alright?" The woman said. Perseus gave her a smile. She was a beautiful young woman, probably in her early twenties. "Thank you for saving me."

Perseus gave her a small smile. "No problem. I was just passing by when I heard a damsel in distress."

"Is there anything, I could do for you?" The woman said.

Perseus shook his head. "Its okay, you don't have to do anything." The woman stepped closer to him.

"There must be something I could do for a handsome gentleman like you." The woman said sultrily as she put her hand on Perseus's chest and started turning into a slut. Perseus rolled his eyes.

"You're no different than the man who almost raped you. You too, are just looking for pleasure for your lust." Perseus said before he walked away from the woman.

The mortals nowadays were just as they were a few thousand years ago. Perseus blended in with the mortals, trying hard not to make himself look like an immortal who had Titans as his parents. Perseus eventually ended up at the edge of a forest he didn't recognize. Percy cursed himself. He had time skips like that occasionally. He would be walking one second and the next thing he knew, he was swimming in someone's bath tub (long story). Percy experiences time skips, where the time literally skips for him, bringing him to the future, which is unpredictable.

Perseus was about to walk away from the forest when a voice stopped him. "Stop!"

Perseus stopped in his tracks and turned around. He saw several arrows notched at him. Manning those bows and arrows were several girls in silver hooded parkas, with the youngest being nine and oldest being seventeen.

"Lady Artemis, is this the man you were talking about?" One of the hunters said. She had black hair and volcanic black eyes. Perseus recognized her as a daughter of Atlas, because Perseus was there when she was sired. It was Zoe Nightshade, one of the Hesperides who joined the hunters of Artemis.

"It's him." Perseus heard Artemis's voice said. Artemis stepped out of the shadows, beautiful as ever. Her hair seemed lustrous with auburn colour under the moonlight, also making her skin glow slightly. "Do not move or it will be your last."

"I'm sorry, Lady Artemis," Perseus said politely. It felt weird calling his niece 'lady' and being respectful to her. "But I do not wish to quarrel nor make any trouble for you or your hunters."

_He is polite towards me. Perhaps I'll turn him into something for reasonable. A baboon would do_¸ Artemis thought amusingly in her head. "Well, you will have trouble on you should you move."

Perseus doubted that would happen. If the hunters fired an arrow, Perseus could just deflect it with the bullets of his guns. That was how good his accuracy is with a gun. He could hit the tip of an arrow with his bullets. Plus, he could fire as fast as Artemis could shoot. Or maybe it was just his father's power, improving his shooting pace.

"Who are you? I sense godly power coming from you. Are you an immortal or a demigod?" Artemis asked.

"Who am I is none of your concern. As for your second question, I am an immortal."

"That means you are a god."

Perseus shook his head. "Even though I am immortal, I am not a god."

"That's a lie." Artemis notched an arrow. "I sense your godly power that rivals even my own."

"I am not lying, Artemis."

"It's _Lady _Artemis to you, boy!" Zoe growled. "If you disrespect our mistress again I will fire an arrow between your eyes." Perseus never looked down on a threat, no matter how non-threatening it was. But still, it pisses Perseus that this girl was threatening him even though he was a god.

"It wouldn't make sense if I call her 'lady' if I am older than she is now, would it. Zoe Nightshade?" Perseus growled back. Zoe seemed surprised that Perseus knew her full name. Without thinking, Zoe fired her arrow. Perseus reacted quickly, took his gun out and fired with pin point accuracy, striking the arrow right at the point. The arrow got deflected and fell to the ground. Zoe looked stunned, and so did Artemis. No one was able to have that kind of accuracy without having the time to aim the gun. Perseus cursed himself for getting mad at Zoe like that. "My apologies, Lady Artemis. I didn't mean to offend any of your hunters like that."

Artemis looked and studied Perseus carefully. "Come with me to Olympus, tonight." She turned towards the hunters. "Set up camp. I will return as soon as possible after a meeting with my father." The hunters looked reluctant, but they nodded. Zoe glared at Perseus one last time before she went off with the hunters, leaving Artemis and Perseus alone.

"Why do you want me to come to Olympus?" Perseus asked.

"Because you are an unidentified immortal, a vacant god to be exact."

"I know that. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"It means you are a threat, because you can have any domain that is possible to get, as long as that domain doesn't belong to any other god." Artemis said. "Besides, there's this feeling that . . ."

"What?"

Artemis waved Perseus off and without even asking him, Artemis put one hand on his shoulder and flashed both of them to the throne room of Olympus. Perseus was familiar with flashing, so he didn't get sick like most usually do after their first try using this method of travel. The throne room was empty, by the way. Artemis marched towards the throne of her father, Perseus's brother, and knelt down. She muttered something quietly and Perseus couldn't make out what she said. Soon, twelve flashes entered the room. Sitting on their respective thrones were the Olympian council. All of Perseus's siblings were here, except for Hades. Perseus mentally smirked. They hadn't change a bit since England.

"What business you have that you have summoned the council here, my daughter?" Zeus asked.

"I'm here to bring you, this man, a vacant god." Artemis said. Some gasped, some muttered with each other.

"What is your name?" Zeus asked. Perseus had a hard time trying to strain himself from running away. His had reminded him to be careful around his siblings, and he had kept that word in his head forever since she'd faded. Perseus didn't answer his brother's question. "What is your name?" Zeus repeated, slightly louder than his previous voice.

"Lord Zeus is asking you a question." Poseidon said, clearly bored. It's unfortunate that Poseidon had to be here, just because Zeus had ordered him to. Perseus also felt sorry for his other siblings, Hera and Demeter.

"You'd better answer him, before you get blasted by lightning." Artemis warned. Perseus just shrugged as he remained silent. Zeus's royal nostrils flared.

"You dare to ignore my question?" Zeus bellowed. His master bolt appeared in his hand, giving out an intense electrical atmosphere. "Your rudeness is unforgivable." Again, Perseus shrugged.

Artemis pulled his arm. "Are you stupid?!" Artemis whispered. "Do you have a death wish?" Perseus stayed silent. "Father, I'm sure we can talk this out."

"Step aside, my daughter." Zeus warned.

"But father-"

Without any thinking for another second, Zeus fired the master bolt directly at Perseus, endangering Artemis in the process who was next to Perseus close enough to make her injured from the master bolt. Perseus acted fast and carried Artemis out of the way of the bolt. It hit the marble floor and a loud thunder could be heard echoing in the throne room and it sounds like its being played from a massive sound magnifier.

When the smoke and bright light cleared up, where Perseus had been standing was nothing but black smears and stains on the floor as explosions had just happened. The throne room wasn't damaged from the master bolt. Zeus had a grin on his face for one moment, but later, it disappeared as he saw Perseus carrying Zeus's daughter, Artemis, bridal style. The other Olympians looked rather shocked not at the fact that Perseus had managed to avoid Zeus's master bolt, but they were shocked that Artemis would let a male touch her. Perseus, knowing his limits with the maiden goddess, carefully set Artemis down and stepped away from her, keeping their distance.

"How could you do that to your own child?" Perseus said with clear anger in his voice. "She's your daughter, isn't she? You would rather endanger your daughter just because someone won't answer your question? Your pride has really fed you, hasn't it?"

Zeus glared at Perseus. "Know your place, immortal. You are a _vacant _god. Your powers are no match for mine." Zeus bellowed. Artemis was still astonished that this stranger would defend her. Artemis had barely known him, and even thought about turning him into a baboon, and yet he saved her and defended her.

"Heh, know my place . . ." Perseus muttered with a slight smirk. "Know _your _place, Zeus. How many attempts have you done just to ensure that it is you who remains in charge?"

"Do not question what I have done! I have and forever always be the King of Olympus!" Zeus roared. Thunder rumbled and lightning struck all around them. Perseus expected some of the Olympians would disagree and starts to give him an invisible slap, but they just looked at Zeus with disapproval without saying anything.

"Well, good luck to all of you Olympian council under his reign." Perseus sighed. "I'm leaving." Perseus turned around, kicked the bronze doors open and walked away.

"He will get a taste of my bolt!" Zeus said as he held his bolt up in the sky. Thudner rumbled and lightning flashed before the master bolt fired its lightning to the sky, looking for its prey. The lightning travelled outside and would've struck Perseus if it hadn't been for Artemis. Artemis tackled Perseus out of the way before the lightning could strike him. Perseus was surprised. He was ready to counter Zeus's bolt, but Artemis had saved him. Both of them tumbled to the ground with a grunt. Artemis untangled herself from Perseus.

"That makes us even." Artemis whispered. "I hate to be indebted to a man."

"I'm impressed, Artemis." Perseus said. "We're all even, then."

"Artemis!" Zeus bellowed from the throne room. "How dare you interfere his punishment?!"

"He is right, father. It is not right for you to kill him just because he won't answer your question. It's not his fault that he does not wish to be recognized." Artemis said back.

"Looks like this man's rudeness has rubbed on you." Zeus muttered loud enough for them to hear. "So you shall die with him." Zeus said. This was getting more and more obnoxious. Zeus's ego is biting off more than it could chew.

"So? Kill her. Punish her." Perseus said, stepping in front of Artemis. "Prove us right that you would do anything so you could remain in your seat as the King of Gods. Prove us right that your ego has got the better of you."

"Silence!" Zeus roared said and fired his master bolt through the door. Perseus used his power over gravity and lightened the gravity on the lightning bolt, making it weightless. The bolt diverted itself towards the sky, missing them completely. Zeus looked shocked that his master had been easily diverted.

"How did you-" Artemis didn't finish her sentence because Perseus was glaring at Zeus.

"The goddess is under my protection," Perseus declared. "Should you threaten her in any ways or even touch her, I swear by the Styx that I will destroy you. Your reign as the King of Gods is over."

Zeus growled at Perseus for embarrassing him in front of the council, in front of the other gods.

"You will not harm Artemis and she will stay with me, where she won't be harmed and be forced to accept all of your decisions." Perseus continued. "I claim it by the Styx that Artemis will forever be in my protection."

Massive thunder boomed overhead. Everyone looked at Zeus and his eyes were widened with shock. His daughter had just been taken away from him. If someone claims anyone under their protection, no one is allowed to make any contact with that person, except if the on protecting that person gave you permission to.

"Why would you do that?!" Artemis grabbed Perseus's arm. "You know what you've done by protecting me? You're endangering yourself."

"It won't be the first." Perseus shrugged. Then, he turned back to Zeus. "Artemis is under my protection. You would do well to be a good god and don't harm her." Perseus then turned her heels and walked away, dragging Artemis along with him. Artemis didn't know what to do, so she followed along.

That started off well.

**A/N: Hehe . . . What do you think? Good? Bad? Well I don't care. I'm going to keep doing this, regardless of what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: It seems you all liked it. Hehe . . . I'm not allowing Aix to update his other stories . . . Let him sleep, okay? He he . . . **

Pereus grabbed Artemis's wrist and flashed them out of the place, back to where the hunters were camping. The hunters reacted fast when Perseus appeared, each of them notching an arrow before Perseus could even blink. Artemis had really trained them to be alert and quick.

"Relax, my sisters." Artemis assured them. "It's us."

Zoe looked a bit surprised, but she lowered her bow. "Forgive me, milady. I didn't realize it was you when I noticed _his _scent." Zoe said, gesturing at Perseus.

"Zoe, show some respect." Artemis said as Perseus gave her his best death glare. "He's here, unfortunately, to protect me." Zoe's eyes widened in shock as Artemis finished speaking.

"Why would you seek protection from a male?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Artemis said, looking at Perseus.

"Remember well, Artemis that I had saved you from your father's wrath." Perseus reminded her. "And do not worry, huntress. I will respect Lady Artemis's wishes for me to stay away from you. I will not make any contact with any of you unless I see it necessary. I'm here to protect Lady Artemis. As for why, you could ask her." Perseus turned around and walked away, finding a place to sleep but he walked a few steps before stopping for a while. "I shall warn you if I see any threats coming our way. Goodnight, Lady Artemis."

When Perseus was out of earshot, the hunters immediately surrounded Artemis and started asking questions. Artemis sighed mentally. She should've expected this to happen. Her hunters, even though they seem hard and cold whenever men were near, they could be pretty childish when it was only them, and playful as well.

"Settle down, girls. I will tell you the story." Artemis said. After the hunters had calmed down and sat down, Artemis told them the story. "When I brought Perseus into the council, Zeus asked him what his name was. He kept quiet instead of answering, angering Zeus and his huge pride in the process."

"Does he have a death wish?" Phoebe said.

"That was what I first thought." Artemis admitted. "So I defended him."

"Why would you?"

Now that Artemis thought back about it, she didn't really know why. "I'm not sure, really. Maybe it's because the fact he'd done nothing wrong and Zeus threatens to blast him with his master bolt."

"How would you know he'd done nothing wrong?"

"I don't. I just felt like he'd done nothing wrong." Artemis admitted, which left some unsatisfied faces among the hunters. "Anyway, that's not important. When Zeus was about to blast him, I stepped in the way. I thought my father maybe wouldn't have blasted Perseus if I was in the way, but . . ."

"What happened?" Zoe asked, her voice filled with concern.

"H-He fired his bolt anyway, knowing I was well in the way." Artemis said as tears welled up in her eyes. She'd never thought her father would go as far as killing his own daughter just to kill the man who disrespected him. When Artemis noticed that her hunters were watching her with worry, Artemis quickly wiped her eyes. She did not want to look weak in front of them. "Anyway, Perseus saved me. He dragged me out of the path of the bolt to safety. He was angry with Zeus for having the guts to do that to his own daughter. That, as you know, angered Zeus. On his way out, Zeus sent another bolt of lightning down towards Perseus. I reacted quickly and tackled him out of the way."

"Why?"

"Because I'd hate to be indebted to a man." Artemis admitted. "Then, Perseus, for some reason, claimed me to be under his protection."

Then, the hunters had confused looks on their faces. "So?"

"You don't understand, Zoe." Artemis said. "When someone claimed someone else to be under his or her protection, no one could make any contact with that person unless with the permission of the one who's protecting him or her."

"So why didn't Zeus claimed to protect you then?"

"Because claiming to protect someone is dangerous. It involves your life. Basically, my life and Perseus's are now intertwined. He will be like my armour. If I get hurt, if he chose to, he could take the injury for me. If I get ill, he can take the illness from me." Artemis explained. "I don't like it, because I'm not comfortable when someone else is endangering their lives for me. And I don't like it even more that I'm under the protection of a male."

"Why would he be endangering his life?" Phoebe asked. "He could only take your injuries and sickness, right?"

Artemis shook her head. "Like I said, Phoebe. He will be my armour. Let me ask you girls, if armour is broken, can it be used?" The hunters shook their head. "Same thing applies for Perseus. If I take a fatal injury, it doesn't care if Perseus wanted to take it or not, he will take my place should I die." Artemis explained. "In return, should I choose too, I can lend my powers to him, making him stronger and easier for him to protect me, which doesn't suit me at all."

"But, you're both immortal. You would reform eventually, right?" Her youngest hunter, Lily, asked.

"Yes, that is true, but still, I don't like it. Plus, there're more ways to kill an immortal nowadays than before." Artemis said. "But there's something weird about Perseus . . ."

"How weird?"

"Weird like, I-somehow-know-him weird." Artemis said. "I've seen him before, but I have some kind of feeling that I should know him."

"Maybe it's because I might be related to you somehow." A voice said behind them suddenly, making most of them jump. Artemis turned around to see the tall figure or Perseus, standing a few inches taller than her. Artemis was in her eighteen year old form, which was a bit rare because she's comfortable in a much younger form.

"Don't surprise us like that!" Artemis said. Perseus managed a chuckle, which sounded very heartwarming.

"I'm sorry Lady Artemis, but I meant no harm. I was just wondering if you and your hunters would like to eat." Perseus offered. Zoe stepped forward in front of Artemis and faced Perseus. Even though Perseus towered over her, she seemed like the more intimidating one.

"We are fine on our own, thank you very much." Zoe snarled.

"Excuse me for being polite, _hunter_." Perseus glared at Zoe.

They are not getting along really well.

"Zoe, the god is simply offering us his help." Artemis said patiently. "Show him some respect." Zoe looked reluctant, but she stepped back. "As for your offer, Perseus, it's okay. I thank you for your concern, but there is no need. We are more than capable of taking care for ourselves and-" Artemis felt someone tugging at her shirt. She looked down to see Lily. Her face was a bit pale and she didn't look very well. "Excuse me for a second." Artemis said. Perseus nodded as Artemis knelt down, facing Lily. "What's wrong, Lily?"

"I don't feel so good." Lily said. "I feel like throwing up."

"Well, go and rest. I'll try to find something in the infirmary to help you ease the pain. In the mean time, you should-" Artemis was cut off by Perseus who knelt down next to Lily.

"Hey, what's your name?" Perseus asked soothingly. His voice was the kind of voice that you would like to listen to every day. Lily looked a bit scared and Artemis shot him a glare. Phoebe reached for her bow, notched an arrow at Perseus, but Perseus made no indication that he even cared. "It's Lily, right?" Perseus asked. Lily nodded shyly. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts and I feel like throwing up." Lily admitted.

Perseus gave her one of his smiles. Artemis had to admit, his smile was charming and cute somehow. Why was she even having these thoughts?

"Well, let me help you with that." Perseus clasped his hands together. There was a faint golden light coming from his hands and when he opened them, there was a small cup of water that Artemis recognized as tea. "Here, drink this. I won't lie, it won't taste good, but it will make your stomach feel better."

Lily looked at Artemis for reassurance. Artemis smiled and nudged at her to go on. She trusted Perseus. Why? She didn't know. Lily wrapped her hands around the glass and took a sip of the water. Then, she held the glass away and made a funny face with her tongue sticking out. "It tastes like toilet water."

Perseus smiled. "I did warn you." Perseus took the glass from her. "How do you feel now?" Perseus asked Lily. Lily gave him a warm smile.

"It feels better now. Thank you, Lord Perseus." Lily said. Perseus shook his head.

"None of that, Lily and to all of you." Perseus said, looking at the hunters. "Don't call me lord or anything like that. Just call me Perseus."

"I wasn't planning to." Zoe muttered. Phoebe elbowed her.

"Cut it, will you?" Phoebe said. "I don't like him either, but I doubt Artemis would approve of us hating him especially since he'd just helped Lily."

Zoe grumbled something that Phoebe couldn't make out, but she decided to ignore it.

"Thank you for your help, Perseus." Artemis said.

"It's my pleasure, Lady Artemis." Perseus said before he walked away. Artemis turned around to face her hunters, only to find them glaring at her with their arms crossed. "What?"

"You're getting too close with him." Zoe said. "We don't like it."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Girls, he means no disrespect and he's only trying to help us. He's here because my life and his are bound together, and there's no other reason."

"He can decieve you." Phoebe stated out.

"I assure you, my sisters, that I would not be easily decieved by a man. If Perseus decieves me, I would personally send him to Tartarus." Artemis said.

Zoe cracked a smile. "Good to see your hatred towards men have not yet disappeared."

"Are you kidding me, Zoe? It would take more than Perseus to make me lose my hatred towards men." Artemis reassured her. The hunters laughed at Artemis, while she managed a small smile.

Perseus was perched on a tree. He had no plans on sleeping for the night because for some reason, he didn't feel sleepy. Perseus hummed some of the classical songs that he'd come to like over the century as he looked and absorb the beauty of the moon. Artemis must've been in an elated mood, because the moon was bright. Perseus couldn't help but smile when he thought about Artemis. Something about his niece seemed different than the other goddesses he'd ever met. Perseus had not problems with the hunters and he didn't even felt offended or angry about his small rivalry with the lieutenant of the hunt, Zoe. Perseus would try and make their friendship possible, even if it was a bit of a long shot. Perseus then remembered what his mother had told him.

_Promise me you will treat others we respect_, Rhea's voice rang in his ears. Perseus smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, mother. I have not forgotten." Perseus muttered.

"Talking to yourself?" A voice said. Perseus smiled slightly.

"Lady Hestia," Perseus muttered. He dropped down from his branch and landed next to a bonfire. Near the fire, an eight year old girl wearing a brown robe tended the flames. Perseus looked at her eyes and saw them filled with flames that seemed to envelope Perseus with warmth and comfort. "What do I owe you with the pleasure of your visit?"

Hestia gave him a warm smile. Perseus had always wanted to meet his sister, but under the demands of his mother, he couldn't. But here he is now, face to face with one of his sisters. "I'm impressed that you didn't see me as a threat. Normally, they would have to ask who I was first before they decided that I'm an ally."

Perseus chuckled. "I'm sure a kind goddess like you wouldn't be a threat to anyone unless you wanted to."

"You're being modest." Hestia pointed out. "Care to join me near the fire?"

Perseus didn't see any reason to decline her offer, but he knew he had to stay away from her and avoid spilling any information that may lead to her thinking that he was her brother. "You haven't answered my question, Lady Hestia." Perseus stated out. "I'm not complaining or anything, but why are you here?"

Hestia's expression turned into a serious look. "I had a strange feeling when Artemis brought you to Olympus." Hestia explained. "It was like seeing an empty chair being taken up after being vacant for so long."

"I don't think I understand what you're saying, Lady Hestia." Perseus said.

Hestia just gave a smile. "Do you know what my domain is, Perseus?"

"You're the Goddess of Hearth, Home and Family." Perseus stated out.

"That's right. Family is my domain. When you arrived at Olympus, I felt like that a new branch had grown from the family tree. The hearth had expected your arrival." Hestia said. Perseus cursed silently. Hestia was on to him. He had to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

"Forgive me, Lady Hestia, but I must go." Perseus said as he hurriedly got up. He turned his heels and walked away.

"Who are you parents?" Hestia suddenly asked. Perseus stopped dead in his tracks. "I sensed something in you that I only feel when I'm close to my siblings." Perseus kept quiet. "Whenever I'm with my brothers or sisters, I felt my mother's presence with them. Surprisingly, I felt the same thing when I'm with you, and my mother's presence when I'm with you is stronger than my brothers and sisters." Hestia stood up. "So, I ask you again. Who are you parents?"

Perseus never expected that this wouldn't happen, but he'd never expected it to be this soon. He was about to answer when his left arm felt a surge of pain. Then, he heard Artemis's voice rang through the night. Now that Artemis is under his protection, every injury or pain that she receives will be directed to Perseus. What Perseus did was only giving her physical protection. If Perseus gave her his full protection, that would make both of them partially immortal, which would mean a fatal attack of any kind would end their lives, and that would be it.

Then, a wound starts to open at his forearm. Blood started to flow out of the wound. Percy gritted his teeth. It was painful, but Perseus has experienced worse than this. From his experience, the wound was caused from a sharp object, most likely a blade.

"I'm sorry Lady Hestia, but I gotta go." Perseus said urgently as he ran back towards the hunter's camp. As Percy suspected, they were attacked. The hunters formed a ring, surrounding Lady Artemis. They had an arrow notched, and all of them were aimed at a single target.

"I'm warning you, Artemis." The man in front of them said. Perseus recognized the voice. It was one of the children of Ares that was made immortal. His name was Phobos and almost similar to his name, his domain was phobias. He controlled every the phobias of everything, including immortals. One thing Perseus learned during his lifetime is that nothing was perfect, not even immortals or even gods and Titans. Everyone had fears, including Perseus himself. "If I alone can already wound you, how do you think you would handle the entire Olympian force?"

"Zeus tried blasting me with master bolt." Artemis spat. "He doesn't care about me at all."

"That's because you tried defending the man that disrespected him." Phobos countered. "If you hadn't interfered, things would've gone differently."

Then, Zoe stepped forward and nocked her arrow a bit further backwards. "Do not disrespect Lady Artemis in our presence, _male._ I don't care if you're a god or not, I will put an arrow through your head."

Phobos laughed evilly. "Oh, Zoe Nightshade. A brave and beautiful warrior. Tell me, what's your greatest fear? Don't even bother hiding it. I will find out."

"I don't have any fears." Zoe said boldly.

"Oh, that's not true. Everyone has fears, including the bravest of mortals." Phobos said. Phobos moved to touch Zoe's forehead, but Artemis reacted quickly and fired an arrow at Phobos's leg. He backed away and growled in pain. Phobos gripped the arrow and pulled it out of his leg.

"You would do well to respect my hunters and not touch them." Artemis said coldly.

"You will pay!" Phobos roared as he moved quickly towards Artemis with his sword, not giving the hunters the time to react. In the eyes of everyone else, including Hestia, who was watching silently, Perseus somehow managed to move faster than Phobos, reaching him and blocked the path of Phobos's sword with his own. Phobos had a look of disbelief in his eyes, while the other had the look of shock in their faces. "What?!"

Perseus pushed Phobos away. "Leave." Perseus said.

"You," Phobos growled. "You know, Zeus offered a great deal of reward to whoever managed to turn you in." Phobos smirked. "I think this won't take long."

"Yeah, it won't." Perseus taunted. Phobos glared at him as he moved and slashed at Perseus. Perseus brought his blade up and parried the strike, followed by a strong and firm kick towards Phobos's face. He was sent sprawling to the ground. "Leave now before it gets worse for you."

Phobos chuckled. "You think I would back down after just a kick?" Phobos looked up and Perseus saw that he didn't mean what he'd just said. One side of his face was badly bruised from Perseus's kick. Artemis and her hunters gasped at what Perseus's kick managed to do to Phobos's face. Even Artemis couldn't do something like that. Perseus didn't show any mercy and tried to slice Phobos's head clean off but just before his sword reached Phobos's neck, he shined with bright light before disappearing from the scene. Percy cursed silently as he sheathed his sword.

Percy turned towards Artemis and the hunters. "Apologies for being late, Lady Artemis. Are any of your hunters hurt?" Percy asked.

"We don't need your-" Zoe started to say but Artemis cut her off.

"None of them are harmed, Perseus, but thank you for asking." Artemis said, still marvelled by the fact that he'd defeated Phobos so easily.

"Well, I shall be going then. I won't stay too far from camp." Perseus said. He turned around and started to walk towards the forest when Zoe suddenly spoke.

"That just proves you don't care about her." Zoe said with a smirk. Perseus stopped dead in his tracks.

"What do you mean?" Perseus asked.

"You didn't even asked Lady Artemis whether she's hurt or not." Zoe said. "She got attacked by-"

"By Phobos's sword." Perseus finished. He turned around and faced the hunters. "Lady Artemis, would you care to show us your wound?"

"Sure, but-" Artemis was cut off by her sudden realization. She knew she'd been hit by Phobos's sword and there was a brief pain, but it was only for a very brief moment before it was gone. Artemis thought it wasn't that bad, so she left it but now, there didn't seem to be any pain from her left forearm where Phobos had attacked her.

"Is your wound in the left forearm?" Perseus asked. Artemis nodded. She revealed her forearm and saw that it was still okay. There was no wound, no blood, not even a scar that was visible. The hunters gasped.

"Milady, I thought Phobos hit you." Phoebe asked.

"He did . . ." Artemis looked towards Perseus. "Perseus took the wound for me."

Perseus chuckled. "You're under my protection, Lady Artemis. You won't receive any wounds of injuries for a long time." He said before he trudged into the woods. Perseus didn't want to admit or say it to Artemis, but the wound was pretty bad, even for a god. He sat down and leaned on a tree. He chuckled at himself a bit. It's been a while since he'd received a wound from anything.

"Seems pretty bad," A familiar voice said. Percy smiled as he realized it was Hestia's voice. She appeared from behind the tree and sat next to Perseus. A bonfire magically appeared in front of them, giving them warmth.

"I've had worse." Perseus admitted. Hestia smiled and held her hand out. Flames sparked and dance on her fingertips before they flew around in front of Perseus and wrapped themselves around his wound. It felt warm and soft. When the flames disappeared, his wound was healed and cleaned, without any trace of it left. "Thank you, Lady Hestia."

"It's my pleasure, little brother." Hestia said. Perseus's eyes widened as he looekd at Hestia. When Hestia noticed his shock, that just confirmed her suspicion. She'd first made an assumption that Perseus was her brother when the hearth got brighter when he arrived, but her suspicion was increased when she saw Perseus moving faster than Phobos. Hestia had never met anyone with that speed, not even the King of Winds, Aelous. Hestia assumed that Perseus had quicken time down for himself so in reality, everyone moved slower for him, meanwhile for everyone else, he moved faster. That meant he had power over time, and the only being that that kind of power was her father, Kronos.

"W-what are you talking about?" Perseus stammered.

"Admit it, you're my brother, aren't you? That's why I got a feeling that someone missing for a long time had finally returned home." Hestia said.

"I-I . . ."

"Perseus?" He heard Artemis called. Perseus and Hestia turned to see Artemis. "Oh, Lady Hestia. I didn't know you were here." Artemis said.

"It's okay, niece. I mean no harm and I have no intention in turning you to my brother." Hestia gave her a warm smile which reassured Artemis a lot. "I was just about to leave." Then, she turned towards Perseus. "I'll be going now, Perseus. I will see both of you soon. Farewell." She said before she disappeared in a column of flames. Still, Perseus couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy now that Hestia knew about his identity. Perseus was going to tell her, because she's one of the few immortals that Perseus looked up to and she didn't turn him over to Zeus. Plus, she didn't say anything to Artemis about him being the seventh child of Kronos and Rhea, so that made him indebted to her.

"What was that about?" Artemis asked.

"Hestia was just curious about me and asked some questions. It was a friendly visit." Perseus informed her.

"Oh." Artemis simply said. "Um, Perseus, I don't know who you are or why are you doing this, but thank you for protecting me and my hunters." Perseus examined her face. She was flushing with embarassment and Perseus knew why. This wasn't like Artemis, apologizing to men. Besides, Perseus didn't want any of that.

"There's no need for that, Lady Artemis." Perseus said. "I was just doing my job being your protector and protecting the hunters by doing so. And also, I mean no disrespect, but I know how much this affects your pride as a goddess who stands up for the definition of virginity, expressing your gratitude to a man. I respect you and your hunters and I know full well what I should and should not do around all of you."

Artemis couldn't help but feel impressed at how well Perseus knew she and her hunters. Sure, he was a god, but Artemis had never met him before, so he had no way of knowing about her. Sure, everyone could just read some information in books but they're rarely correct. "Well, I'll leave you now." Artemis said.

"Be careful not to trip on a rock on your way." Perseus joked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Perseus. I'm-" Artemis fell down to her face as she tripped on a rock. Perseus winced a bit as the pain that was inflicted to Artemis was redirected to Perseus.

"I told you to be careful." Perseus teased.

"You will not speak of that to anyone, or I'll make sure you'll regret it." Artemis said while her face was red with embarassment.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Perseus reassured her before she huffed and walked away. Perseus couldn't help but smile and shook his head. Some immortals can be childish sometimes. But his happy thoughts were soon drowned out when he thought about Hestia again. She had discovered who he was and he'll have to meet her soon.

"Mother, what should I do?" Perseus muttered to himself. Then he smiled silently.

Nothing was perfect.

**Line Break**

Perseus didn't sleep at all last night, and he had no intention to. He had to stay on guard to protect Artemis and her hunters. Although they were not his favorite type of women, Perseus wanted to protect them from harm because he had this feeling to protect decent women, which he had picked up from his mother. The death of his mother had made him to want to protect everyone else, the decent ones at least.

Perseus stood up, brushed the dirt off of his red coat and walked back towards the hunter's camp. He really wished the hunters would understand that he meant them no harm and he want to get along with them, but the several centuries of hating men had really stuck on them.

Then, there was a rustle behind him that disrupted him from his thoughts. Perseus instantly turned around with both of his guns drawn and aimed at whoever, or whatever it was. What he saw surprised him just a bit. In front of him, was a boy, probably somewhere in the age of sixteen with a girl somewhere in the age of twelve. The boy had sandy blond hair, handsome features and a scar on his face, as if something sharp had been dragged across it.

As for the girl, she had a punk hairstyle with some hints of eyeliner beneath her eyes. Perseus instantly knew that both of them were demigods and from the dirty hair, torn and ragged clothes and the grim faces, they have probably been attacked by monsters several times. Both of them trusted no one other than themselves, which is a good strategy if you're up against the Greek world. Perseus didn't sense any threat coming from them, even if they had their weapons aimed at Perseus. They were just protecting themselves. Perseus lowered his guns and put them back in their holsters.

"Who are you?" The boy asked.

"I'm not the one tailing people." Perseus said. "Introduce yourself first."

The boy gritted her teeth and he inched closer to Perseus, but the girl stopped him and stepped in front of him. She had her spear lowered as she look towards Perseus. "My name is Thalia," The girl said. "This is my friend, Luke."

Luke didn't seem satisfied that Thalia had stopped him, but Thalia shot a look at him and he stood down. Perseus just nodded. "My name is Perseus."

"Percy?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.

"No, Perseus."

Their eyes widened a bit. "Are you-"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not the Perseus you heard of from the Greek legends." Perseus said. "What brings you here, demigods?"

"We were- wait, how did you know we were demigods?" Luke asked.

"I'm an immortal." Perseus admitted. He didn't want to call himself a god because, well, he wasn't one.

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Thalia asked, gripping her spear tighter.

"You can trust me." A voice said behind them. Artemis seemed to notice the commotion and had arrived with the hunters. Perseus just smiled a small smile.

"Oh, Lady Artemis." Luke said and bowed. Thalia glared at the girls that were glaring back at her. This time, Luke shot her a look and Thalia just bowed along with Luke. "I didn't know you were here."

Artemis smiled. "Luke Castellan," Artemis said. "Your father worries about you, you know?"

Luke gritted his teeth. "If he's worried about me, he should've helped me." Luke said.

"You know full weel that won't be possible." Artemis explained. "Gods are forbidden to interfere with their child's fate." Luke had an angry look on his face, but no one seemed to notice.

"Lady Artemis," Perseus interfered. "I think we should help them on their journey. It's the least we could do."

"We don't need your help, Percy." Thalia growled. "Especially when you're with them." Thalia pointed out to the group of hunters.

"The feeling is mutual." Zoe snarled.

"You have a strong heart," Lady Artemis said. "Someone who would definitely do well in my hunt."

"I'm sorry, Lady Artemis." Thalia said. "But I have no interest in joining you. I'm sticking with my friend."

"Travelling with a boy," Phoebe spat. "There are less decent woman left in this world."

"Say that again you sl-" Thalia started to say before Luke clamped his hand around her mouth. Perseus felt something fry the ozone air, like electricity, and then Luke pulled his hand away from Thalia.

"Ouch!" Luke muttered. Thalia glared at him. Perseus had to admit, her death glare was scary. "You didn't need to zap me, Thals!" Perseus realized that Thalia had somehow zapped Luke. Unless she was a clever scientist, Perseus made an assumption that Thalia was the daughter of Zeus. Apparently, Zeus had broke his oath during World War II. Perseus knew Hades hid his kids before the oath.

"Enough," Perseus said, gaining everyone's attention. "There's no point in arguing this. If you won't accept the hunter's assistance and if the hunters won't offer you assistance, then you guys are welcome to stay for a while with me, away from the hunters."

"We don't want an immortal's help." Luke said.

"But you need one." Perseus said. "Just for a while. Have some food, get some rest and then, you can leave if you want to. I won't hold you back."

Luke and Thalia had steely looks and was having trouble trusting them, which Perseus understood. The life of a demigod is hard if he or she is left at the mercy of the monsters. The longer you survive, the more you learn that you must be careful on who you trust. Right now, Luke and Thalia trusts no one other than each other.

"Fine," Luke said. "But don't expect me to help you if you ran into any trouble."

"Wasn't expecting you to." Perseus said.

**Line Break**

After the hunters returned to their camp, Perseus, Thalia and Luke stayed near a big tree large enough for the three of them rest. Perseus started a fire and they made themselves comfortable. Perseus knew if he offered them food, they would decline, so he settled with another approach. He prayed to Hestia. Seconds later, Hestia appeared in a flash of flames, surprising both Luke and Thalia. Hestia greeted them with a smile.

"Lady Hestia," Luke said. "We weren't expecting you to appear so suddenly." Luke bowed, followed by Thalia.

Perseus sent Hestia a mental message.

_Help me?_

_What's wrong?'_

_I found these two demigods following me and I offered them my help. Considering they didn't know me, I doubt that they would accept any help from me. I thought I'd bring someone who they knew and trust._

Hestia smiled. _I'll be glad to help._

"Well, I was summoned so suddenly." Hestia said with a smile. "Care to tell me your tale, demigods?"

Luke and Thalia knew they could trust Hestia, so they told her the story. The truth is, that's not the only reason why Perseus summoned Hestia here. He wanted to settle his debt with Hestia by explaining everything to her. In the middle of their story, Hestia summoned several homecooked meals for them.

"You may eat, demigods." Hestia said. "You must be tired and hungry."

"Thank you, Lady Hestia." Thalia said before she wolfed down her meal.

After they finished their story, Lady Hestia tended the flames. "I can help you with your journey." Hestia said. "It won't be easy, but at least you'll find a home and a place to stay, where you'll be safe from the monsters. There, you will train and become stronger with other demigods."

"Sounds interesting." Luke said.

"It's called Camp Half-Blood," Hestia said. "Located near Long Island, New York."

"Long Island?" Thalia asked. Hestia nodded.

"Well, we'll be on our way then." Luke said. "And Percy, thanks for the help. You too, Lady Hestia."

"Why are you calling me Percy?" Perseus asked.

"Because it's easier to say rather than Perseus." Thalia grinned. They said their goodbyes before leaving both Percy and Hestia in the distance.

"Percy . . . I like the name." Hestia said with a smile. "You should stick to it, brother."

Percy winced a bit when Hestia referred to him as brother. He sighed deeply. "I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?" Percy said. Hestia didn't answer, which was probably for the best because answering that might've caused some misunderstanding between them. "When Zeus turned into a god who's mature enough to fight Kronos, another child was born. A child of Kronos and Rhea, the seventh sibling. Then, when the gods won the Titan War, Rhea had fled to Mount Ida with the young baby. There, she raised the child like a real mother would, giving him love, compassion and taking care of him."

Hestia nodded and gestured him to go on.

"After a millennia or so, the child had grown and had become immortal. Little did he knew that his mother was leaving him . . ." Tears started to well in his eyes. "The boy wasn't supposed to be born, so in order to keep it balanced, the mother took his place and faded away instead of the boy."

Percy couldn't really see her face, but he heard Hestia sobbing slightly. The flame was burning in a light colour, but slightly dim than usual.

"Mother always treated her children equally," Hestia said sadly. "But after what I've heard from you, I know you're special to her."

Percy sighed. "Mother had once told me that she loved all of her children," Percy put one arm around his sister. She needed him now. She didn't want to admit it and neither did her siblings, but they all missed Rhea so much. Hestia being the most sensitive one. Whenever anyone tell stories about her mother, she couldn't help but cry, remembering her mother. Percy knew this and decided to comfor her. "She's proud of all of you."

Hestia smiled as she hugged her brother that she'd never known of until now. Percy returned the warm hug. Hestia sobbed slightly in his shoulders.

"I can feel Mother's presence in you." Hestia whispered.

Percy smiled. "Mother would've wanted us to meet, sister." Percy would've never imagined the word _sister _would come out of his mouth.

**Line Break**

Zoe grumbled as she trudged into the forest to call Percy. Artemis had summoned him, but she was too buzy to call him herself, so Zoe involuntarily went to call him. It's not like Zoe hated him or anything, but she didn't want Percy to get too close with Artemis because that might change Artemis's prespective towards men, and she might end up getting tricked again like that incident with Orion.

Then, she stopped dead in his tracks when she heard voices speaking. She leaned against the tree as she tried to eavesdrop on what the conversation was about. She recognized one of the voices as Percy's voice, and he seems to be talking to someone. The more she listened, the more she was shocked.

She had to tell Lady Artemis about this, but should she? Or more importantly, could she? Zoe didn't know what's stopping her right now from telling Artemis. She wanted to, but at the same time, her gut told her not to.

In the end, she made up her mind.

**A/N: I don't even have an excuse for not updating this story for that long. I'm just really, really busy and I don't have that urge to write with all this school work piling up on me. I noticed that during the Titan's Curse, Thalia had told Percy that she'd once met the hunters before and asked her to join them, so I decided to give my prespective on how it happened. So, leave in the review if you like or hate it, like I said, a review always helps. Until then, take care.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As Lady Hestia flashed away from the scene, a smile crept onto Percy's face. He now had a family member that actually knew the truth about him. He'd always wondered what it felt like to have someone close to you after being alone for so long. The last time he actually felt he had a family was when Rhea was still around.

"I always knew you were a liar." A voice said behind him as the tip of two hunting knives pressed on both side of his neck. Percy turned around to see the daughter of Atlas, Zoe, glaring at him. "The world has enough of men as deceitful as you."

Percy countered her glare. "I have not tricked your mistress, Zoe. I simply kept the truth about me from her." Percy explained. "I have no wish to let her or anyone know about this, nor do I wish to have quarrel with you."

Zoe pressed her knives deeper into his skin, but Percy didn't flinch a bit. "Tell me something, _hunter,_" Percy said. "What makes yomalu think that I wouldn't kill you right now?"

Zoe was a bit scared of his threat, because he is a god, but Zoe didn't back down. "I will kill you before that." Zoe said defiantly. Percy admired her spirit. Of course, he had no intention on killing her.

"Zoe! Perseus!" Percy heard Artemis called. Percy was about to flash away but Artemis manage to spot them before that. Artemis gasped when she saw Zoe holding her hunting knives near Percy's throat. "Zoe, what are you doing?" Artemis asked with a very serious tone. Zoe panicked, but the tip of her weapon never left Percy's throat.

"Milady! This male has been deceiving you," Zoe growled, trying to get Artemis to her side.

"What?" Artemis said. She turned her eyes towards Percy. "Is that true, Perseus?" Percy didn't answer and just smirked. Artemis's expression turned into one of anger. "Is what Zoe saying is true?"

Percy looked deeply into her silver eyes. "No," Percy said. "I didn't deceive you, Lady Artemis. I simply didn't wish to tell you."

"And why would you keep this secret from me, Perseus?" Artemis growled.

"Because there's this thing called personal privacy." Percy growled back. Zoe edged closer.

"Watch how you talk with the mistress, male." Zoe threatened.

"I have enough of you, huntress." Percy said. He moved quickly in pushing the blades with his palms, catching Zoe in surprise. Zoe used her trained reflexes to take out her bow and notch an arrow, but when she aimed at Percy, she was already staring down at the barrel of a gun. It was a standoff between Zoe and Percy.

"How dare you threaten my hunter?!" Artemis said out loud as she launched herself at Percy. Percy ducked as she flew over him. Percy took out his other gun and aimed at Artemis. A look of disbelief flashed across her face, disbelief that someone was actually threatening her right now.

"I have no quarrel against both of you," Percy said, getting a bit irritated over a small matter. "But if you meddle in with my personal life again, I wouldn't hesitate to take actions against you. My past is simply not yet time for you to know. What Zoe heard will be have to be kept between us."

Artemis glared at him. "I demand that you tell me now!" Artemis ordered.

Percy countered her glare. "I still have some respect for you, Artemis. Don't make me lose respect for you just because you're acting like a child." Percy put his guns away. Zoe and Artemis both glared at the god. Artemis was still fuming that he had called her childish and managed to threaten her and one of her best hunters. Zoe was mad because Percy was being rude and he lied to Lady Artemis.

Percy isn't mad. He's just annoyed that they were trying to learn about his past.

"Fine," Artemis growled. "I'll let this slide this time." Artemis turned towards Zoe. "Zoe, do as he wish. Just until I've figured out more about him."

"But Lady Artemis-" Zoe started but a quick glared from Artemis cut her off. "As you wish, Milady." Zoe said reluctantly. Artemis stormed off to the woods and back at their camp. Zoe glared at Percy.

"Just keep quiet about what you know, and we'll get along just fine." Percy said. Zoe grumbled something that Percy couldn't make out before she trudged off into the forest towards camp. Percy sighed as he shook his head.

_Tiring day, brother? _Hestia mused in his head.

Percy chuckled mentally. _You have no idea, sister. I do wish they could keep this a secret as you would, sister._

_They will warm up to you eventually, Perseus. Only then, you could open up to them._

_It's going to take a while before they warm up to me. _Percy sighed.

Percy couldn't see her, but he was sure that Hestia was smiling. _Brother, I need your help._

_What is it, sister?_

_I need you to get my daughter at Olympia and bring her to the hunters._

Percy frowned. _Daughter? I thought you were a maiden, sister?_

_I still am. Her name is Julia. She's a child born with the blood of our cousin, Asteria. With her permission, I have adopted her. She's well informed about the Greek pantheon, but she had still to discover her true origin. I need your help in getting her from her house before monsters sense her blood. She's a rare breed of half-titan and since she's Asteria's daughter that makes her Artemis's cousin._

Percy nodded. _I will help, sister._

_Thank you, Perseus. I will inform you should anything else happen._

Percy got up and went towards the camp. When he got there, he received a lot of death glares from the hunters, but he ignored it and he didn't even feel slightly threatened from their glares. Percy was heading towards a glaring Artemis and bowed slightly.

"Lady Artemis," Percy said. "Can I have your permission to leave for a few minutes?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And go where?"

Percy had to discuss that to Hestia for a while. _Can I tell her?_

_Just tell her you're fetching a demigod for me._

_She's not going to believe that._

_I'll help you out._

Percy shrugged. "Lady Hestia had asked for my help to get a demigod for her."

"I don't believe you." Artemis said coldly.

"Oh, he's not lying, nephew." A flash of flames appeared next to them, revealing an eight year old Hestia in her brown robe. Artemis's eyes widened before she bowed slightly.

"Aunt Hestia," Artemis said with a slight bow.

Hestia just smiled. Her warmth seemed to spread around everyone, covering them with comfort. "I had asked Perseus to get a demigod for me right now, which he needs you permission to do so."

"May I ask, why didn't you go do it yourself? No disrespect, Aunt Hestia." Artemis said.

"I'm busy trying to keep the Olympian council at peace." Hestia said. "The hearth isn't glowing like it used to. The council is a bit torn apart emotionally because of Zeus's rash actions."

Artemis nodded grudgingly. "Fine," Artemis turned her head towards Percy. "You may go, but don't be out too late."

Percy nodded and bowed slightly. He gave a small smirk and a wink at his sister before she disappeared in a flash of flames. When she was gone, Artemis flashed a look of annoyance at Percy before she stormed into her tent. Percy sighed as he also flashed out of the scene.

**Line Break**

Percy arrived at the house that his sister had mentioned where Asteria's daughter resides. It looked like a rundown house that hadn't been taken cared of for a while. From inside, Percy heard something crash and break.

"Come back here!" A man roared from inside as Percy heard another thing crash.

"Stay away!" A girl cried out. From the sounds of it, she's probably eight or younger. Percy had a bad feeling that she's in trouble, so he rushed towards the house and kicked the door open.

"Get here you son of a bitch!" The man roared. Percy gritted his teeth as he marched into the house. He stumbled upon an angry looking man with receding grey hair. His belly showed off like Dionysus's and he reeked of old garlic. "Who are you?" He growled when he saw Percy. "How did you get in here?"

Percy didn't show any expression. "Here's the deal, mortal," Percy said in a very serious tone. "I take the girl, walk out, and you pretend you didn't see anything." Without even saying anything, the man lunged towards Percy with his fists balled. Percy sighed. He didn't enjoy killing mortals, or even injuring them, but if he had to do it, he will. The man did a wild punch at Percy, but he just ducked under the punch and landed a quick one on his throat. The man made gagging sounds as he crumpled to his knees. Percy ended his life with a quick blow to his face with his leg, snapping his neck. When the man collapsed to the ground, Percy walked past him and went on to look for the child.

"Julia?" Percy called. At the corner of his eyes, he saw a little girl cowering in a closet. Percy inched closer and opened the closet where the girl shrunk back in fear.

"Stay away! Don't hurt me!" She screamed.

"Julia," Percy called in the most soothing voice he could do. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here because your mother sent me." Percy offered her his hand, but she was still reluctant.

"Go away," She said, this time with a tone less loud.

"Julia," Percy called out. "Come on out here for a second, okay? I promise I won't hurt you." Percy said.

"Promise?" Julia said.

"Yes, I promise it with my life." Percy said. Julia stepped out of the closet. Her face was bruised and there were scratch marks all over her. It's clear the man had abused her and thinking of that made Percy's heart rage. He should've make him suffer more, but it's too late for that. "How old are you, Julia?" Percy knelt down next to her.

"I'm seven," Julia said. "How did you know my name?"

Percy smiled at her. "It was your mother who told me about you. She sent me to save you."

_Uh, sister, could you come down here for a second? _Percy asked his sister. Within a few seconds, a pillar of flames erupted next to them and Hestia appeared in her brown robe. Percy gave her an appreciative smile before turning his attention to Julia who's a bit shaken by Hestia's sudden appearance.

"Julia, this is your mother, Hestia." Percy explained. "She's special, just like you, Julia."

Hestia moved her hand towards her, but she pulled back. "How do I know you won't hurt me?"

Hestia gave her a smile. "I won't." With just those two words, Julia's expression softened. Although a bit reluctant, Julia gave her hand to Hestia who took it softly. A stream of warm flames flowed out of Hestia's hand, covering her wounds and bruises and healing them. When the flames had dissipated, all of her wounds were gone.

"Thanks," Julia muttered.

"Julia, I need you to come with me." Percy said. Julia's eyes widened as her expression turned into one that looked horrified. "It's okay, it's going to be fine. I'm going to bring you to some girls that are just like you. They're also special and they are great hunters."

Julia looked at Percy with her big brown eyes and Percy melted in her adorable face. "What if they hurt me?"

"They won't," Hestia said. "I promise."

"Yeah, and I'll be there for you." Percy said as he ruffled her brown hair. "I'll protect you if they do anything."

"Promise? Promise you won't leave me?"

"I promise." Percy said. Julia's expression softened as her face cracked a very small smile. Percy stood up as Julia took his hand. He looked at his sister who was smiling at him.

"Thank you, brother." Hestia said warmly.

"I thought you said you couldn't come?"

"I couldn't, because the man that was taking care of her was still alive and I couldn't kill a mortal."

"So you leave the dirty work to me?" Percy demanded. Hestia just chuckled. She knelt down in front of Julia. "Julia, I'm going to give you my blessing, alright? It may look weird, but it won't harm you. In fact, it will make you stronger. I will be giving you some of my powers so you could protect yourself."

"What kind of power?" Julia asked nervously. Hestia smiled as she held up her hand. Warm flames started to swirl around her arm, making its way towards her palm. "Cool," Julia said, completely awed.

Hestia chuckled. She put one hand on her shoulder and a warm faint orange light glowed around her. Julia's brown eyes turned into crimson red and her hair even had a streak of red which Percy found to be adorable. Then, to Hestia's surprise, Julia put her arms around her neck and hugged her. "Thank you, mom." Hestia looked surprised, but after it settled in, Hestia embraced her adopted daughter.

"Go with Perseus, my daughter. He and the girls will take care of you." Hestia said warmly. "Brother, I leave her in your care. I will be returning to Olympus."

"Of course, sister." Percy said. Julia pouted at her mother.

"Will I see you again?" Julia asked.

"Of course you will," Hestia said. "You're my only daughter, Julia, which makes you my favourite."

Julia gave a cute smile which made Percy and Hestia smile.

**Line Break**

"Okay, Julia, we're going to do something but I need you to trust me." Percy explained. He wanted to flash to the hunter's camp, but he didn't want to overwhelm Julia. It would be a lot shorter than walking the whole way back.

"What are we going to do?" Julia asked nervously.

"We're going to, uh, teleport to where my friends stay. It's going to feel weird at first and you might want to throw up, but it won't do any harm to you." Percy explained. Julia looked wary for a moment before she nodded.

"I trust you, Percy." Julia said as she gripped Percy's hand tightly.

"Alright then," Percy said. "Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to." Julia nodded and closed her eyes. Percy was about to flash to the hunter's camp when a sharp pain hit the side of his head, as if someone had thrown a large rock to his head. Percy buckled to his knees.

"Percy? Are you okay?" Julia asked. Then, she gasped. "Oh gods, you're bleeding!"

"What?" Percy said groggily. He was feeling dizzy with a massive headache. When he looked at his hand, there was blood. He was bleeding. Either someone had thrown a rock at him, or either Artemis was in danger and Percy doubted it was the former. "We need to go now. When we get there, hide in the trees and don't come out until I say so."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just do as I say. Trust me, okay?" Percy smiled the best he could with a huge pain in his head. Julia looked worried, but she nodded. Percy immediately flashed towards the forest where the hunters had camped. Immediately, the sound of battle entered Percy's ears. Percy looked around to see a horde of monsters had ambushed the hunters. Percy cursed himself. He was supposed to be on guard duty, but he was doing a job for Hestia. Percy wondered why Artemis didn't tell one of her hunters to be on guard, but he'd have to wonder about that later. "Okay, Julia, stay here until the situation has cleared up, okay?"

Julia nodded as she hid behind a large tree trunk Percy took his sword out and rushed towards the hunters even though his head was pounding. A hellhound lunged at him. Percy reacted quickly by rolling to the side and slashed his sword upwards. The hunters were scattered all over the grounds. Percy caught a glimpse of a trio of hunters, picking of monsters one by one with incredible speed. Artemis, Phoebe and Zoe stood with their backs against each other, firing their arrows with amazing accuracy at such high speed. Percy ducked under the sword of a dracaenae and thrusts his sword at the monster's gut, destroying it into monster dust. Percy heard a shriek to his left and turned his head to where the shriek came from. It was one of the hunters he had helped before, Lily. Percy took his guns out and shot at the monster that was attacking her. He rushed towards her side and picked off monsters with his guns until the threat was minimized around her.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Lily said. "Thanks, Perseus." She took out her bow and joined Percy in picking off monsters. Even at a young age, she was skilled and was definitely better than Percy.

"Stay at the treetop, shoot at anything that's not human and stay safe, okay?" Percy said.

"But you're not human, you're a god." Lily said.

Percy groaned. "You get what I mean." Percy said. Lily gave him a cheeky grin as she climbed onto a tree branch and started to fire her arrows. Percy dashed into the centre of the battle and slashed monsters like a madman. Hellhounds, Cyclopes, dracaenaes and telkhines were destroyed in Percy's wake, leaving a thick trail of monster dust behind him. The hunters, who had been watching him from a distance, were amazed by his ability in close combat. Even Artemis was amazed, because his skills rivalled, maybe even better, than her skills.

When the monsters were cleared, Percy was panting and breathing heavily. He sheathed his sword and turned towards the hunters. It had been a while since he had a good workout like that. He mentally grinned at himself. Lily smiled as she looked at Percy. Artemis looked at him with a glare.

"Why didn't you warn us about the monsters?" Artemis growled. Did she really forget?

"Lady Artemis, I already told you. Hestia requested my assistance and you even gave me permission to go." Percy said. "I know you wouldn't have forgotten to put one of your hunters in guard duty." Percy eyed Artemis suspiciously, but she maintained an angry look. "Tell me, Artemis. Were you hit by anyone during the battle?"

"You underestimate my ability, boy." Artemis said. "No one even managed to get close to me."

"It's true; I was by her side the whole time." Zoe said. Then, as quick as lightning, Percy pulled his gun and aimed at Artemis. The hunters reacted quickly in notching one arrow in their bow and aimed all of them at Percy, but Percy ignored.

"What do you think you're doing?" Artemis demanded.

"Where is she?" Percy growled.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know who you are, or what you're planning, but if you don't return Artemis right now, I'm going to beat the living shit out of you." Percy threatened.

"How dare you talk to Lady Artemis like that?!" Phoebe inched closer.

"How do you know that's Lady Artemis?" Percy asked. "I bet you my life that if you asked her when did she took you in the Hunt, she won't be able to answer them."

Artemis, or the imposter, panicked as her skin paled. "T-That's absurd!" The imposter flustered.

"I'm going to ask you again," Percy said. "Where's Artemis? Answer my question, and I'll let you go." The imposter fixed him with a glare, but even she was scared. Percy rolled his eyes and shot at her leg. She cried out in pain.

"Why did you do that?!" Zoe cried out.

"Look at your mistress," Percy said. "Even if this is you mistress, then mind telling me why she's mortal?" The hunters looked at the imposter to find red blood instead of ichor flowing down from where Percy had shot her.

"Blood . . ." Phoebe muttered. Then, she notched her arrow as far back as she could but this time, she aimed at the one who claimed to be Lady Artemis "Where's Lady Artemis? Answer me!"

"Percy!" Percy heard Julia shouted. Percy cursed. He'd forgotten about her.

"Keep the imposter here, don't let her escape!" Percy ordered as he ran towards where Julia was hiding. When Percy arrived, she was surrounded by three cyclopes, all looking at her hungrily. Behind Julia was Artemis, lying unconscious. "Julia!" Percy shouted as he dashed forward. Then, everything happened in a flash.

The monsters lunged at the same time. There was no way Percy would get there in time. Julia let out a scream as a wall of fire erupted from the earth beneath the monsters, incinerating two of them. The last Cyclops, who seemed to be the biggest, didn't go down. Instead, he got even angrier and lunged again at Julia. Julia looked at the monster angrily, focusing all of her emotions at the monster. From the earth, skeletal hands started clawing at the feet of the Cyclopes. The skeletons started to emerge from the earth, climbing the Cyclops who's struggling to shake them off from his body. The Cyclops tried to move, but his feet were stuck to the ground. A dozen skeletons crawled and climbed onto his body. Julia held her hand out and the skeletons exploded at point blank range of his body. The Cyclops screamed in agony as it crumbled into dust.

Percy watched from amazement and horror. Sure, it was a monster but that was a horrible way to die. Putting everything aside, Percy rushed at Julia. "Julia, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little . . ." Julia yawned before passing out. Percy caught her before she fell to the ground. That must've taken a lot of her energy, but it was still impressive. Percy carried Julia on his back where she slept soundly as he went towards Artemis, who was unconscious. There was a faint bruise at the side of her head, which meant this was really her.

"Artemis," Percy called. Her eyelids fluttered open. She shot awake in panic, looking around her for any enemies. "Artemis, relax. It's only me, you're safe now." Percy reassured her. Her senses calmed down as she looked at Percy.

"What happened? Who's that?" Artemis asked.

"Let's talk about that after we've dealt with the imposter." Percy said.

**Line Break**

After an awkward walk together towards camp, both of them met with a group of hunters who sighed in relief that their mistress was safe. Phoebe had the imposter bound in Celestial Bronze chains and had an arrow standby aimed at her.

"Who's this?" Artemis asked. Phoebe looked at Percy for confirmation.

"Don't worry, it's really her." Percy confirmed. Phoebe gave Percy a grudging nod.

"This mortal had imposed herself as you, Lady Artemis. Luckily, Perseus managed to spot that before anything else happens." Phoebe explained.

"How did you know it wasn't me?" Artemis asked.

"You're in my protection, Artemis." Percy explained. "Any wound you receive will be transferred to me. I know you got hit at the side of your head. So when I ask her if she got hit by anyone, she said that no one managed to touch her and that gave her away. Besides, when I shot her, mortal blood came out of her wound instead of golden blood."

Artemis nodded. "Well, thank you for saving my hunters from the battle." Artemis turned her face towards the imposter with a scowl on her face. "Daughter of Hecate," Artemis said. "For act of treason against the gods, you are condemned to death."

The girl who looked like Artemis laughed. "You are no longer an Olympian, Artemis. My mother and Zeus himself had their protection on me against you. Those who are not an Olympian cannot lay a finger on me." The girl said. Artemis notched an arrow and released it straight at the girl's head, but the arrow went through and hit the ground. Artemis scowled. "You see what I mean? I can only be killed by a god and an Olympian, and since you're-"

She never did finish her sentence as Percy shot her at the head, killing her instantly. "Sorry," Percy said. "She was getting annoying." Percy said nonchalantly as he put his gun away. Thunder rumbled loudly at the skies but Percy waved it off. Artemis was amazed Percy had been able to kill her. She couldn't be touched unless the one killing her is an Olympian and a god. Maybe Percy was something special, but whatever it is, she didn't know except for Percy himself and Zoe.

"Lady Artemis, I have a request to make." Percy said. Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you take care of Julia for me? I would like to take care of her myself, but I trust her more in your care rather than mine. Besides, she needs to rest in the infirmary."

"What happened to her?"

"I think she's just tired." Percy said.

"Well, I can take care of her but with one condition." Artemis said.

"What would that be?"

"Join us at dinner." Artemis offered.

**Line Break (Back at Olympus)**

"This is outrageous!" Hecate shouted. "How did the immortal managed to kill my daughter?! We've put our best power to protect her!"

"Raise your voice like that again and you will taste my bolt!" Zeus roared. Hecate shrunk down as she bowed to Zeus.

"Forgive me, Lord Zeus." Hecate squeaked.

"As for the vacant god and my insolent daughter, we will deal with it later." Zeus said as a plan formed in his head.

**Line Break (Hunter's Camp)**

Percy felt a bit nervous going to dinner with the hunters, because they were constantly throwing him death glares, none more threatening than Zoe herself. The hunters set up a camp fire for all of them as they sat around it. Since they were hunters, they ate the animals that they'd hunted and tonight's course, bear meat.

Percy stayed out of the way as much as possible. The hunters were having a good time amongst themselves, joking around, laughing and chatting. Percy had never seen a merry atmosphere like this since, well, for a while. When Artemis arrived, she just smiled at her hunters. Before eating, they gave a portion of their food to the fire as sacrifice to the gods.

"Thank you, girls." Artemis smiled at them. The girls just cheered as they smiled at Artemis. Then, Percy caught a scent of his favourite food; one that he wouldn't think that he would smell again. It was his mother's, Rhea's, homemade cooking. Percy had almost forgotten what it smelled like. The scent brought back sweet memories of his mother. He looked around to see Lily smiling and waving at him. She'd give a portion of her food for him. Percy smiled and nodded at her appreciatively. "So, let's exchange stories."

From what the hunters told, while Percy was getting Hestia's daughter, they'd been ambushed by a horde of monsters because no one alerted them. Artemis had been taken away by Hecate's daughter when she was asleep, and she was hid somewhere else. When she was awake, the bitch knocked her out again with a rock, which explained why Percy's head bled (which still hasn't been healed, but the wound was somewhat closed).

"Percy," Artemis called. "What happened when you found me?"

Percy took a deep breath. "I heard a scream from the forest after we caught the imposter. I recognized the scream as Julia's voice, so I rushed towards the forest. When I found her, she was surrounded by three Cyclopes as she was protecting you. I was about to save her, but she reacted faster than me, killing all three Cyclopes by herself."

There were murmurs of disbelief and awe among the hunters. Even Artemis seemed impressed. "She would make a fine huntress." Artemis muttered.

"I believe that is what Hestia wants for the child," Percy explained. "That's why she told me to bring her to you. She wants you to take her into the Hunt."

Artemis nodded in approval. "A maiden like that is more than worthy than being in my hunt." Artemis turned towards her hunters. "Any objections?" The hunters grinned and shook their head.

"Can we meet her?" Lily asked cheerfully.

"Well, I'm not sure if she's awake or not." Artemis said.

"I'll go check on her." Percy offered. He stood up and went towards the infirmary. When he got there, Julia was already awake and was sitting on her bed.

"Julia?" Percy called. "You awake?"

"Yeah," Julia said softly. Percy entered and sat next to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just a little tired." Julia said. "I thought Hestia only had fire powers? Why did a bunch of bones started to claw out of the ground?"

Percy chuckled. "I forgot to tell you. Your real mother was Asteria. She was a Titan, which makes you very, very special. Asteria had powers over necromancy, which enables you to have some control over the powers of the dead like controlling skeletons, putting curses and all of other things that you will learn as your ability increases."

"That's . . . cool, I guess." Julia muttered. Percy just smiled.

"Come on, Julia. The hunters are eager to meet you." Percy said. Julia nodded as she held Percy's hand tightly. Percy led her outside and towards where the hunters were gathering. Lily was the first one to jump up from her seat and greeted Julia.

"Hey," She said cheerfully. "I'm Lily."

"Julia," She answered shyly as they shook hands. Artemis walked over towards her.

"I heard that you protected me." Artemis said. "Is that true?"

"I just did what I had to." Julia said. Percy smiled a bit at Julia's shy behaviour. She refused to let go of Percy's hand. Artemis gave her one of her sweet smile.

"I truly appreciate what you had did for me, Julia." Artemis said. She offered Julia her hand. "I'm Artemis,"

Julia's eyes widened. "No way, you're really Artemis? Artemis as in, goddess-of-the-moon, Artemis?" Julia asked. Artemis chuckled at her funny behaviour.

"Yes, that is me. As you can see, this is my Hunt." Artemis gestured to her hunters. The hunters grinned and waved at Julia. Julia waved back nervously.

"Julia, I think Hestia sent you here so you could join the Hunt." Percy explained. "Here, you would have a nice family, a place where everyone will protect you and where you will truly be safe."

Julia kept her eyes on Percy. "Will I ever see you again?"

Percy smiled. "Of course, Julia. I will be around for a while." Then, he leaned in to her ear. "Assuming the hunters doesn't keep shooting at me."

"I'll protect you Percy," Julia smiled at him. Percy smiled back as he ruffled her hair. Then, she turned towards Artemis. "Um, Lady Artemis, can I join the hunt?"

Artemis smiled. "You don't ask to get in; you get asked to get in." Artemis said strictly. "Nonetheless, you are more than worthy in being in my hunt." Artemis looked at Percy for permission, and Percy nodded. "Come, follow me to my tent."

Julia stepped back behind Percy. "Why?" She asked. Artemis just smiled.

"It's kind of like an initiation before you join the Hunt. I'll explain further more in my tent." Artemis said.

"Its okay, Julia. I'll be here if anything happens." Percy reassured her. Julia nodded, took a deep breath and followed Artemis. Suddenly, something jumped onto Percy's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was Lily. Percy chuckled at her. "Is there something wrong, Lily?"

"Nothing," Lily said. Then, she kissed Percy on the cheek. "Thanks for saving us, Percy." She leaned closer to his ear. "The others are also thankful, but they're too proud to say that to a man."

Percy chuckled. "I understand," Percy said. "So, mind getting off my back? I need to clean up." Lily pouted, but she got down before she skipped towards somewhere else. Percy smiled and trudged on towards the edge of camp. He tried looking for any body of water for him to clean up the blood on his head, but he couldn't find anything. He heard some rustling behind him and he immediately turned around. It was Zoe and it was the first time she hadn't pointed something sharp at Percy at first sight. "Oh, I thought it was someone else."

"You're not as dense as I thought." Zoe said. "Not many people could detect me when I'm being stealthy."

"Uh, thanks?" Percy said, not knowing whether it was a compliment or something else. "Why are you here? I thought you hated me." Percy said. Zoe's eyes widened as she looked a bit embarrassed.

"Um, it's just that, I wanted to say, um . . ."

Percy chuckled. "Don't worry, Zoe. Lily has told me everything. I can respect that." Zoe's eyes dawned in realization as she nodded numbly.

"Perseus,"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to keep it a secret?" Zoe asked. Percy had never expected that question from Zoe.

"Keep what a secret?"

"That you're the brother of Hestia; you're the seventh child of Kronos and Rhea. That's why you were able to kill the daughter of Hecate." Zoe said. "Why do you need to keep it a secret?"

Percy kept his face emotionless and expressionless. "It's not time for anyone to know. Besides, if Zeus founds out, he'll stop at nothing in trying to kill me."

"As if he isn't trying now." Zoe mused. Percy smiled at that.

"I just want to keep it a secret, Zoe. I hope you can respect that." Percy said.

Zoe looked wary for a moment before she answered. "Sure,"

"Thanks," Percy said. Zoe turned around and walked away, but after a few steps, she suddenly stops.

"Perseus," Zoe asked as she turned around. "Why didn't you make me swear upon the River Styx to keep it a secret? It would've been easier for you, wouldn't it?"

Percy chuckled. "It's because I trust you, Zoe. I know you, Artemis and the other hunters haven't fully trusted me yet and I know why. But right now, I trust you just as much as I trust myself."

Zoe nodded numbly. She didn't expect that kind of answer from Percy, but then again, she didn't expect herself to be having this conversation between them. She turned around and a hint of smile was visible on her face when she was out of Percy's eyesight.

**Line Break**

Percy still hadn't cleaned himself, so he had to go to the hunter's camp looking like someone who had been in the butchery for a day. When Percy arrived, Julia skipped happily towards him from a smiling Artemis. Julia then hugged Percy tightly. She was wearing a silver hooded parka and had a bow slung over her back. She even some kind of silvery glow around her when the moon touches her skin.

"Are you enjoying your time here?" Percy asked.

Julia nodded. "Yeah, everyone is nice and Lady Artemis is also very nice." Julia said. Percy smiled at her.

"That's great, Julia." Percy said. He turned towards Artemis. "I'll be staying awake and keeping on guard around the edges of the camp." Percy offered.

Artemis shook her head. "There's no need for that, Perseus. I've placed out wolves around the perimeter, and they should warn us if there're any threats closing in."

Percy looked a bit surprised when he heard about what Artemis had done. It's probably because Artemis didn't trust Percy anymore, that's why she trusts the wolves more, but Percy doubted that was it. He knew that Artemis was grateful to him and didn't want to trouble him any further, since he was already injured. Percy smiled internally.

"I understand." Percy said. Now, Artemis was surprised. Artemis expected Percy to thank her or just show her his appreciation, but he just said that he understood what Artemis was trying to do just by her actions. He knew that it would wound her pride that if he'd said thanks because she'd never helped a male before. Artemis just nodded at her. She was about to turn around and went back to her tent, but Julia tugged at her arm.

"Lady Artemis," Julia called in a timid voice. "Can you give Percy a tent?" Percy was surprised at Julia's request.

"Really, there's no need for that." Percy said.

Julia turned at Percy. "Shut up, just accept it." Julia said. Then, she turned back at Artemis. "Please?" Artemis actually laughed, a genuine laugh that Percy doubted anyone had ever heard. Her laugh was beautiful, and the moon got brighter. Artemis ruffled Julia's hair with a smile.

"Of course, Julia." Artemis turned towards Percy. "I'll provide you with one of our spare tents, Perseus."

"Thank you, Artemis." Percy said.

**Line Break**

After setting up his tent, Percy entered. It was a typical type of tent with a single bunk bed, a closet and a round desk at the middle of the tent. Percy put his guns and sword at the table as he sat on the bed. It's been a while since he'd found a decent place to sleep at. With all of the crazy things that had been going on, he needed the rest. He lied down as the softness and the comfort of the bed was starting to pull him to sleep.

He smiled when he closed his eyes and an image of his mother smiling popped into his mind. "Don't worry, mother, everything is fine." Percy muttered to himself. "Goodnight, mother." Percy said before going to sleep.

**Line Break**

After one of the best rest he'd had since a long time, Percy woke up. He was surprised when he saw Hestia sitting at the bed next to him. He even jumped up.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that." Percy whined.

Hestia chuckled. "I was watching you sleep. You look so peaceful when you sleep."

Percy scratched at the back of his head. "Well, it's not very peaceful when I woke up." Percy chuckled. "What brings you here, sister?" Then, the smile melted off of her face.

"I'm here to bring some news from Olympus." Hestia said seriously. "Apollo's oracle had issued a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" That caught Percy's attention. "What did it say?"

Hestia took a deep breath.

_A child of Time shall appear,_

_From when Olympus is in great despair,_

_Allies to be made with immortals of the moon,_

_With warriors in silver to aide him soon,_

_For he will be the Gods' King's bane,_

_And the seventh child will end his reign._

Percy couldn't really understand most of it, but he understood some of it. "What do you think it means?"

Hestia shook her head. "I'm not one for prophecies, brother, but there is more bad news for you and Artemis." Hestia explained. "Zeus has sent everyone a message, demigods, Olympians, immortals, titans, monsters and everyone to hunt the both of you down. He had put a bounty on both of your heads."

Percy gritted his teeth as he cursed silently. "His ego had fed him too much." Percy grumbled.

Hestia nodded. "Our brothers and sisters are afraid to do anything to stop him, because he has too many allies by his side." Hestia said. "I don't know what the prophecy says, but I know someone who does."

Percy's picked up. "Who?"

"The oracle of Apollo herself. That means you're going to Long Island." Hestia said.

"Camp Half-Blood, right?" Percy asked. He'd heard about that camp before. It's supposedly a camp for demigods for them to train to survive. It's a home for half-bloods who didn't have anywhere else to go. There, the oracle of Delphi resides.

"That's correct," Hestia said. "Tell Artemis about the prophecy. Consult her judgement before doing anything."

Percy smiled. "What would I do without your help, sister?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Hestia mused. Then, thunder rumbled ahead. "I must get going. Zeus is gathering up his allies to go against you and Artemis. I will return to Olympus and I will tell you if there's anything wrong."

Percy nodded. "I appreciate your help, sister." Percy said. Hestia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she vanished in a flash of flames. Percy went out of his tent to find the hunters doing their own things, but most of them were training. Some of them were trying to teach the younger hunters the basics of being a hunter, while some were just minding their own business. Percy went towards Artemis's tent and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Artemis asked.

"It's me, Perseus." Percy said. There was a brief moment of silence before Artemis stepped out of her tent. She was looking just as beautiful as ever, even in the daylight.

"Is there something wrong?"

Percy took a deep breath. "There's something we need to talk about." Percy looked around. "In private. It concerns both of us." Artemis looked wary for a moment, but she gestured him to follow her into her tent. Percy obliged. The insides of her tent were a bit different from his. Artemis's tent was certainly bigger with animal pelts hanging from the walls or some of them were laying around the floor, making it feel comfortable. Artemis took a sit and so did Percy.

"What is it?" Artemis asked.

"Hestia visited me this morning." Percy said. "She warned me about Zeus's action. Your father had set up a bounty on our heads for any being that catches us." Artemis's eyes widened. She didn't expect her father to go as far as making everyone hunt for them. "Right now, he's gathering up allies and the rest of the council are too afraid to do anything."

Artemis nodded nervously. This was turning into something big. "We need to prepare."

"We do, but that's not all." Percy said. "Your brother's oracle had issued a prophecy."

"What did it say?" Artemis asked.

Percy repeated the lines that Hestia had told him earlier. "I don't know what it means, but Hestia knew someone who might know what it means."

"The oracle of Delphi." Artemis said before cursing. "We're going to Camp Half-Blood, I presume?"

Percy nodded. "Is there something wrong? Do you have some kind of problems with demigods?"

Artemis shook her head. "The demigods aren't the problem. It's the males. I can't stand it when the males look at my hunters. It makes me want to contribute in increasing the animal population on this planet."

Percy smiled. "It's going to be fine, Artemis. I'll deal with anyone who messes with you or your hunters." Percy reassured her. Artemis raised an eyebrow at him.

"Can I ask why do you care about me or my hunters?" Artemis asked.

Percy shrugged. "It was my mother who taught me to treat others with respect."

"And who is your mother?"

Percy's smile melted off of his face. Luckily, he was saved from answering the question when Zoe barged into the tent. "Lady Ar- oh, Perseus." She bowed slightly. "I'm sorry for intruding, but we have an emergency. Phoebe found two of our wolves' carcasses a few yards from our camp. She told me she wanted to find out what had happened, so she ventured into the forest alone. She hasn't returned in a few hours."

Artemis stood up with an angry scowl on her face. "And what did you do instead of tracking her?!" Artemis growled. Zoe paled at Artemis's anger.

"I-I'm sorry Milady." Zoe said, bowing completely. Percy interfered and put one hand on her shoulder.

"Artemis, relax." Percy said. Artemis snapped her head at Percy with a glare, but Percy didn't flinch. "I'll go look for her. Stay here until I get back."

"You don't deserve to order me around." Artemis argued.

"Stay. Here." Percy said in a more steely tone with an intense glare. Artemis couldn't help but feel scared at Percy when he's being serious. Artemis gritted her teeth and she just nodded. Percy's glare softened as he turned towards Zoe. "Zoe, you're coming with me." Percy said. Zoe just nodded numbly.

Percy walked out of Artemis's tent with Zoe trailing behind him. She led him to where she and Phoebe separated off to. "This is where I last saw her." Zoe said. Percy just nodded.

"She's probably around here somewhere." Percy said. "Where di she went off to?"

"That way."

"Let's start there then." Percy said.

**Line Break**

They had been looking for Phoebe for a few minutes now before Zoe finally spoke. "Thank you for helping me out back there, in Artemis's tent."

Percy just smiled at her. "She just cares a lot about her hunters." Percy explained.

She was quiet again for a few moment before speaking again. "I've never seen anyone do that to Lady Artemis."

"Do what?"

"Silencing her like that. You're the first person to have done that to her." Zoe said.

"I'm special," Percy said with a grin. Zoe just punched him lightly. Then, Percy held his hand up. "Did you hear that?" Percy asked. Zoe frowned.

"Heard what?"

"Listen closely," Percy said. There was a faint sound of something being dragged, like a rustling sound. Percy looked at Zoe and she gestured to the left. Percy nodded. They crept up slowly towards where the sound was coming from. Zoe's blood boiled when she saw that it was Phoebe who was being dragged across the ground with her face scarred and bruised. Zoe was about to lunge and help her friend, but Percy held her back. Zoe shot him a glare, but Percy put one finger over his lips. He pointed at who was dragging her. It was a group of demigods. They'd probably ambushed Phoebe when she was alone. Percy was just hoping that they hadn't sexually touched her, or he'll have an angry Artemis to deal with. Zoe was glad that Percy stopped him, otherwise she would've rushed in and suffered the same fate as Phoebe.

"We'll surprise them," Percy said. "Stay hidden and pick them off one by one with your arrows. I'll see if I can get Phoebe out of there." Zoe nodded as she picked a suitable spot for her to fire her arrows. Percy took his sword out and walked closer towards the group of demigods. Percy waited for Zoe to begin firing, but she never did.

"Hey, look what I found." A demigod away from the group said. He had Zoe by the wrists and she was unconscious. They laughed evilly as they roughly threw Zoe next to Phoebe.

"When they wake up, they won't know what hit them." A demigod said.

"Let's have fun with them, shall we?" One of them said with a nasty grin. Percy realized what they were about to do. Their hands were reaching for the girls' body when Percy moved swiftly and pushed them away. Percy held his sword at neck level. There were six of them, and Percy doubted they would put up much of a fight even if they were experienced fighters.

"Who are you?" One of them asked. Percy glared at each one of them.

"I'll give you three seconds to turn around and leave, or I'll send you to Hades," Percy's eyes lit up with golden colour. "The hard way." The demigods paled, but didn't back down. They charged at Percy with their swords unsheathed. Percy smirked at them. "Wrong answer," Percy muttered.

**Line Break**

Zoe remembered something hitting her from the back that knocked her unconscious. She didn't know what happened, but when she woke up, Zoe saw Artemis and Phoebe staring at something that made her terrified. There was evident horror in her expression. Zoe turned towards where they was looking and saw why.

Percy was killing, no, slaughtering, the demigods that had subdued Phoebe. The demigods weren't even putting up much of a fight. They were practically begging to be let go.

"Please, have mercy on me." A demigod begged as Percy held him by the hair.

"I gave you a chance," Percy said coldly. Percy took his sword out and drove it slowly into his throat, ending his life as slowly as possible. Zoe, Phoebe and Artemis never knew or even thought he could be this cruel and cold blooded. The demigod he'd just killed was the last of them. Zoe felt Phoebe holding her hand tightly. Zoe looked at Phoebe's face and was surprised at what she saw.

She was scared. Phoebe, the daughter of Ares, the meanest and toughest hunter in the Hunt, was scared. It was evident in her eyes. In her life since she'd known Phoebe, she'd never thought she'd ever see her get scared. Phoebe shot Artemis a look, a look that said _let's-get-the-fuck-out-of-here_.

Zoe shook her head, and told her to wait. Besides, it was already too late because Percy was turning around. When he saw the girls were staring at him with horror, a look of anger flashed on his face. Percy gripped his sword tightly. His eyes were intense and scary. Artemis didn't want anything to happen to her hunters, so she stepped forward and looked at Percy.

"Percy, calm down and relax." Artemis tried. She put one hand on his chest as she got closer. "I'm here, don't worry." Artemis reassured him. Zoe didn't know which was more unbelievable. The fact that Artemis was touching a male or the fact that Percy could scare the shit out of them.

Percy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The golden colour in his eyes was gone, replaced by a sea green colour. His expression turned one into a look of guilt. "I-I'm sorry," Percy said. "I just, lost control."

"No shit," Artemis said. "Where've you been? I've been waiting for you for like half an hour."

"We were taking care of the guys who ambushed Phoebe." Percy explained. "I snapped when they were trying to touch the girls. I can't stand it when people are like that. People like that makes me sick."

Artemis looked infuriated by the fact that her hunters were almost violated, but she nodded in approval. "I share your opinion on that." Artemis said. "Thank you, Perseus, for saving my hunters." Percy just nodded. Then, she turned towards Phoebe and Zoe. Both of them paled.

Percy put one hand on her shoulder, pulled her back gently and leaned in to her ear. "Go easy on them," Percy whispered ever so softly. "They felt bad about messing up." Artemis couldn't help but shiver when she heard Percy's soft voice so close to her ear. Although it was completely weird, Artemis found herself wanting more of that feeling that sent a shiver down her spine.

Artemis went up to the girls. They looked down to the ground, not daring to face their mistress. To their surprise, Artemis hugged both of them tightly. "Don't do something like that ever again, not without my permission." Artemis said.

"Forgive us, Milady," Both Phoebe and Zoe said.

"As long as the both of you are safe." Artemis said. "Zoe, help Phoebe back to camp. I need to have a private conversation with Perseus." Zoe nodded as she helped Phoebe go back to camp. The girls shot Percy a look of gratitude before leaving. When they were alone, Artemis glared at him.

"Uh, did I do something wrong?" Percy asked nonchalantly.

"If you make me worry like that again," Artemis fired a blast of silver energy at the nearby tree, making it explode into millions of pieces. "I'll make sure to smack to shit out of you."

Percy chuckled. He held his hands up. "Consider me warned, Artemis." Percy said with a smile. To Artemis, his smile could make her melt. It's was too charming to ignore. Then, she made the decision that would make her question herself for a very long time. She leaned to the side of his face and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thank you for saving my hunters." She said softly near his ear. Percy and Artemis blushed furiously. While Percy was having questions about what just happened, Artemis was having questions about her and her oath. What was she doing?

"Uh, um, yeah . . ." Percy managed. "So, uh, when are we leaving for Camp Half-Blood?"

Artemis was so glad that Percy decided to change the topic. "We'll leave in the noon." Artemis explained. "I would like to use the forest as a route, but the gods would expect that so we're going through the city."

Percy nodded. "Well, um, yeah. Bye." Artemis said before heading off to camp.

That was a rather eventful day.

**A/N: Well, that's sure was . . . meh. I don't know how it was. The truth is, I don't read my own stories. It makes me feel weird. I only read them after I've completed them. Besides that, yeah, I'm sorry for the late update, it's just that, my head exploded after Chemistry and Physics exam. Okay, now I know you were probably wondering, this is a goddamn Pertemis, why is there too much Percy/Zoe involved? Well, don't worry. It's still a Pertemis fanfic, so be happy.**

**Also, I'm going to be focusing on this and Perlia fanfic much more, but don't worry the Percabeth one I will also update but not as often as the two I mentioned. So, leave a review if you like or hate it, like I said, a review always helps. Until then, take care.**


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